What an earldom is
The earldom is the third degree of the peerage and by some distance the oldest. It predates the Norman Conquest: the Old English eorl was a nobleman governing a shire, and the office survived the Conquest as the English equivalent of the continental count — which is why the feminine form is countess rather than any English-derived word.
The peerage of the United Kingdom has five degrees, in descending order: duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron. Every one of them is addressed differently in speech, in the opening of a letter and on an envelope, and the differences are not decorative — they are the practical shorthand by which a correspondent shows they know which office or dignity they are writing to.
In spoken address, however, the earldom behaves like the ranks below it. An earl is addressed as Lord [Title]. The word earl belongs to the envelope, the introduction and the printed page, and using it in ordinary conversation is the most frequent error made by people who have read the title before hearing it spoken.
"Earl of" and "Earl": two forms of the title
Earldoms come in two shapes. A territorial earldom includes the preposition — the Earl of Sandford — and is by far the more common. A non-territorial earldom, usually taken from a surname, omits it — Earl Hartfield. The distinction is fixed by the terms of the creation and cannot be adjusted by preference, so it must be checked rather than guessed.
The spoken style is unaffected: both are Lord Sandford and Lord Hartfield respectively. It is the envelope that requires the correct form, and a current peerage reference or the House of Lords members' directory will confirm which applies.
Speaking to an earl
Say Lord [Title]. Do not say Earl [Title], and do not say Earl on its own as though it were a first name; unlike Duke, the rank does not function as a conversational address. My Lord is confined to formal, ceremonial and judicial registers.
Once the style has been used, ordinary conversation follows. As with every rank, restraint reads better than repetition, and the person addressed will invariably be more comfortable for it.
Written correspondence
Open Dear Lord [Title] and close Yours sincerely. This is right for letters and emails alike, in social, professional and most institutional contexts. Where the approach is entirely formal and you have no acquaintance with the recipient, My Lord with Yours faithfully is correct.
In a heading, a programme or a biographical note, use the full form — the Earl of [Place] — and keep Lord [Title] for the salutation and the running text. Where an earl also holds an office with its own form of address, that office governs correspondence written to him in that capacity.
The envelope and invitations
Write The Earl of [Place] or The Earl [Surname], as the creation requires. A Privy Counsellor takes The Rt Hon. the Earl of [Place], and decorations follow the name. A couple is The Earl and Countess of [Place].
Place cards revert to spoken forms: Lord [Title] and Lady [Title]. Where children attend, they are named by their own styles rather than folded into their parents' — Lady [Forename] [Surname] for a daughter, The Hon. [Forename] [Surname] for a younger son, and the courtesy title for the heir.
Two practical points recur with earldoms in particular. The first is that the territorial designation is part of the title and not a description of residence: the Earl of Sandford need have no connection with Sandford at all, and correspondence should never assume one. The second is that the family surname and the title are frequently different words, so a countess whose family name is Smith is still Lady Sandford and never Lady Smith. Both errors are easy to make from a guest list and easy to avoid by checking the title as created rather than the name on the reply card.
The countess, and courtesy titles for children
The wife of an earl is a countess: Lady [Title] in conversation, Dear Lady [Title] in a letter, and The Countess of [Place] on an envelope. A woman holding an earldom in her own right — there are a small number of such peerages — is addressed identically, and her husband takes no style from her title.
The children of an earl are the reason earldoms attract so much attention in forms of address. The eldest son normally uses his father's most senior subsidiary title, typically a viscountcy, as a courtesy title, and his own eldest son may in turn use one below that. Daughters are Lady [Forename] [Surname] and retain the style on marriage unless they acquire a higher one. Younger sons are The Hon. [Forename] [Surname].
A courtesy title carries no peerage, no seat and no legal privilege. The holder is a commoner, however grand the style sounds, and biography should say so where the point is material.
Context and edge cases
Scottish earldoms follow the same address conventions, though the territorial designation may attach differently and some Scottish titles carry a feudal history that English references handle inconsistently. Where an earldom is held with a marquessate or a dukedom, the senior title governs entirely.
The Barony of Brattleby is a title of honour recorded in The London Gazette and historically associated with Brattleby in Lincolnshire. It is not a property, estate or visitor attraction, and this guide makes no representation to the contrary.